Hurst shifter

[Mad4slalom]

Hi all, anyone had any experience of the hurst shifter vibration and rattle. There are various suggestion to help or cure , ranging from puttin half a tennis ball or rubber hose over the shift lever under the rubber gator. Any ideas or suggestions welcome. TiA

 

[Roscobbc]

Thats unusual - a Hurst shifter is usully the very thing that stops the rattle and 'buzz' from a knackered stock shifter!

 

[Mad4slalom]

Thats unusual - a Hurst shifter is usully the very thing that stops the rattle and 'buzz' from a knackered stock shifter!

I keep hearing mixed messages re hurst v stock shifters , Tom at claremont said to ditch the hurst, there are so many posts re the rattly and vibrating hurst shifters on the us forums so it must be a very common issue. I am going to look under the boot/s and see if I can isolate the shift lever with some rubber between and try the tennis ball thing to see if it helps.

 

[teamzr1]

How about using a rubber or seal spray to solve the rattle/nose issue ?

Amazon.com : rubber spray coating

 

[antijam]

I keep hearing mixed messages re hurst v stock shifters , Tom at claremont said to ditch the hurst, there are so many posts re the rattly and vibrating hurst shifters on the us forums so it must be a very common issue. I am going to look under the boot/s and see if I can isolate the shift lever with some rubber between and try the tennis ball thing to see if it helps.

If you decide to take Tom's advice and junk the Hurst I do have a brand new stock shifter for '69 to '73 with all the rods, levers and fittings going cheap.

 

[Mad4slalom]

If you decide to take Tom's advice and junk the Hurst I do have a brand new stock shifter for '69 to '73 with all the rods, levers and fittings going cheap.

 

[Mad4slalom]

Hmm that seems a bit of a plan . To be able to smooth out this shake would vastly improve the driving experience. I have always thought that half the fun of classic ownership is tracking down bits and pieces to do ongoing tweeks and improvements. I have bought lots of bits on here , half of which I have not used or needed as yet! . any pics of yours would be of interest and a price . I am usually around on 07812 571262. Thank you Antijam

 

[Roscobbc]

Chalk and cheese......Its over 20 years since I replaced mine with the Hurst - and like my stock shifter I'm guessing on most 50 year old Vettes is going to be sloppy too. Not perhaps the easiest of jobs to do but IMHO well worth while in terms of improving the precision of shifting gear. The addition of adjustable 'stops' for each gear allows you to shift as hard as you wish (and I'm putting 600 ft/ibs of torque through the driveline) The fixings are far more rigid too. However this guy seems to be able to improve them even further!

 

[Forrest Gump]

The Hurst shifter is mounted directly to the gearbox whereas the stock shifter mounts on the chassis. I guess that means the stock shifter won’t pick up as much vibration from the engine and transmission, and maybe that’s why GM did it that way. The Hurst shifter‘s direct mounting supposedly helps make the changes more precise, along with other design differences.
Last year I swapped out my worn stock shifter for a brand new Hurst. I’m pleased with it, it shifts nicely, theres no slop and no vibration but that’s what I would expect from either type if brand new.
Have you checked everything is tight - the mounting bolts, the bolts holding the lever to the mechanism? Maybe it’s just getting worn, or maybe you’ve got more engine vibration than normal?

 

[antijam]

Hmm that seems a bit of a plan . To be able to smooth out this shake would vastly improve the driving experience. I have always thought that half the fun of classic ownership is tracking down bits and pieces to do ongoing tweeks and improvements. I have bought lots of bits on here , half of which I have not used or needed as yet! . any pics of yours would be of interest and a price . I am usually around on 07812 571262. Thank you Antijam

Here's a piccie......



This is the Corvette Central kit as supplied by Corvette kingdom. It's new, unused and complete except for the shift knob. I've pirated that and swapped it for my original, which is perfectly usable but showing some signs of wear. Ignore the colour of the shift lever, it is untarnished chrome. It's reflecting the colour of the ceiling in the photo. It does include the setting tool which is not shown in the picture.
CK is selling the kit for £500 - yours for £250 plus shipping. If you want it I'll calculate the shipping and let you know or if you're ever near GL12 you could pick it up.

 

[Mad4slalom]

Here's a piccie......

View attachment 29268

This is the Corvette Central kit as supplied by Corvette kingdom. It's new, unused and complete except for the shift knob. I've pirated that and swapped it for my original, which is perfectly usable but showing some signs of wear. Ignore the colour of the shift lever, it is untarnished chrome. It's reflecting the colour of the ceiling in the photo. It does include the setting tool which is not shown in the picture.
CK is selling the kit for £500 - yours for £250 plus shipping. If you want it I'll calculate the shipping and let you know or if you're ever near GL12 you could pick it up.

Thsnks for getting back. i take it there will be captive nuts or similar on my chassis to accept the stock shifter?. I will try to insulate my hurst and look for where the wear is And try the tennis ball thing to see if any improvement. I am in or nr gloucs on last wed of feb so if I decide to give it a go then I would collect then if it worked for you. I also presume my reverse lock out cable will bolt straight to this with no mods ?

 

[Forrest Gump]

Interesting that you have split pins fitted instead of the twirly clips. That was the only problem I had with my [Hurst] install - on the first drive one of the twirly clips came out leaving me stuck in third gear. After that I replaced them all with split pins.

 

[Mad4slalom]

The Hurst shifter is mounted directly to the gearbox whereas the stock shifter mounts on the chassis. I guess that means the stock shifter won’t pick up as much vibration from the engine and transmission, and maybe that’s why GM did it that way. The Hurst shifter‘s direct mounting supposedly helps make the changes more precise, along with other design differences.
Last year I swapped out my worn stock shifter for a brand new Hurst. I’m pleased with it, it shifts nicely, theres no slop and no vibration but that’s what I would expect from either type if brand new.
Have you checked everything is tight - the mounting bolts, the bolts holding the lever to the mechanism? Maybe it’s just getting worn, or maybe you’ve got more engine vibration than normal?

Yes, my hurst may just be worn out, I will check it all again for tightness. I dont get any vibration in neutral and motor seems smooth, engine and trans mounts all replaced when restored 5k miles ago. The posts on various forums describe my symptoms to a tee and all say it is really common in hurst shifters, old and even new. Even the hursts for the C5 vettes are mentioned a lock with similar issues.

 

[Forrest Gump]

Thsnks for getting back. i take it there will be captive nuts or similar on my chassis to accept the stock shifter?

You’ll need the chassis mounting bracket. My old one is available if needed.

 

[Roscobbc]

1956-1982 Corvette Hurst Shifter Bushings with Clips Set

Kit includes shifter steel bushings and pit pack clips. It fits 1956-1982 Corvette Hurst V-Gate 2, Mastershift 3-Speed, and Competition Plus 4-Speed Shifters.

www.corvettecentral.com

Perhaps these? - seem to recall they originally came with Nylon bushings?

The one thing that was to further improve the gear shifting quality later-on was installation of poly engine mounts.
These were installed as a last ditch attempt before considering solid mounts as the driver side engine mount on mone had an irritating a habit of splitting apart (due to the the engine torque, allowing it to rise-up in the frame, resulting in the fan effectively 'eating' its shroud.
An added bonus was a significant reduction of the tendency of the engine and transmission to 'rotate' on the OEM rubber frame mounts due to torque reaction.....with a yet a further improvement shifting 'precision'.

 

[Forrest Gump]

Poly engine & gearbox mounts will be worse than rubber for transmitting vibration though.

Perhaps you need a torque strap Ross? See them a lot on Mopars, maybe their engine mount positions make them more prone to torque rotation.

 

[CaptainK]

I have a hurst in my 68. It is a little worn, dunno how long its been in car as it came with car when i go it. It vibrates a tiny bit at speed in 4th sometimes, but if you tap it forward a little it goes away. Hardly hear it over sidepipes anyway

 

[Roscobbc]

Poly engine & gearbox mounts will be worse than rubber for transmitting vibration though.

You'd have thought so wouldn't you Andy.....but oddly the reverse was the case........seemed to be less vibration etc. I wonder how many of us realise the stock GM Corvette engine mounts have a metal 'interlock' function so that if the rubber does separate from the metal the design is such so as to physically prevent the engine rising-up more than half an inch or so on the affected side........quite a few of the guys on the CF forum use solid mounts with little reported issues seemingly?

 

[Mad4slalom]

Update, I stripped the console plate and shifter gaitor today. There is side to side slop in the shifter plates before The side movement to engage reverse. I managed to get a 1/3 of a turn on the bolt that locates the plates within the shifter body, this did not remove the slop but may have reduce it marginally.
I then made a version of the half tennis ball fix under the inner gaitor. Put it all back in and went for a test. Not cured but dramatically improved the vibration / noise and to a level that i can live with. The hard rubbery / plastic toy I used is quite fir and I had to trim it in certain spots as I was worried that it might have pushed the shift lever back out of 2nd and 4th gear. It did’nt and I was feeling quite smug. I treated the car to a wash then went to put it away, I noticed a couple of times that wnen I thought It was in neutral it was actually still in reverse or first gear.
After tea , I dtripped it all out sgain and picked up a traditional tennis ball and a dog’s rubber ball. I am going to cut these in half now and see which works best. I think I am on the right track now , if one of these two work without restricting shift movement but stop the noises as well as the first toy, then I will not change to the stock shifter but order a rebuild kit for the hurst and do this at some time in the future. I will report after next test drive. Thanks to all for help and offers so far.

 

[Mad4slalom]

Update, I stripped the console plate and shifter gaitor today. There is side to side slop in the shifter plates before The side movement to engage reverse. I managed to get a 1/3 of a turn on the bolt that locates the plates within the shifter body, this did not remove the slop but may have reduce it marginally.
I then made a version of the half tennis ball fix under the inner gaitor. Put it all back in and went for a test. Not cured but dramatically improved the vibration / noise and to a level that i can live with. The hard rubbery / plastic toy I used is quite fir and I had to trim it in certain spots as I was worried that it might have pushed the shift lever back out of 2nd and 4th gear. It did’nt and I was feeling quite smug. I treated the car to a wash then went to put it away, I noticed a couple of times that wnen I thought It was in neutral it was actually still in reverse or first gear.
After tea , I dtripped it all out sgain and picked up a traditional tennis ball and a dog’s rubber ball. I am going to cut these in half now and see which works best. I think I am on the right track now , if one of these two work without restricting shift movement but stop the noises as well as the first toy, then I will not change to the stock shifter but order a rebuild kit for the hurst and do this at some time in the future. I will report after next test drive. Thanks to all for help and offers so far. View attachment 29277

All back together now with the half a tennis ball instead of the bigger dog toy. It feels less restrictive on the shift but too wet to road test today, I am hoping it engages gears correctly now and that the tennis ball dampens the harmonic rattle as well as the orange toy. Will report back when roads are dry